When measuring a pulse using a pulse measuring device of the related art, the inner portion of an arm of a person to be examined is oriented upwards and maintained in a horizontal position. In this case, the brachioradialis and extensor carpi ulnaris of the wrist of the inside of the arm of the person to be examined are twisted, thereby pressing an artery or a vein, i.e. a blood vessel in the arm. Consequently, the pulse of the person to be examined may differ from the norm.
Oriental medical science requires a very precise pulse wave, and has diagnosed health conditions of persons to be examined based on the difference between such precise pulse waves.
Surgical operations of oriental medical science require a precise pulse wave like the above, yet it is difficult to correctly examine a pulse if a distorted pulse wave is provided as in the related art.
In addition, oriental medical science requires the person to be examined to remain comfortable when the pulse is examined.
If the person to be examined is tense, excited, or tired, it is difficult to examine the pulse correctly since the state of the pulse wave can change.
In the related art, since the pulse of a person is examined in the state in which the arm is twisted unlike the normal state, the person to be examined is uncomfortable. In addition, since the person may be tense, it becomes difficult to measure a correct pulse wave.
In addition, pulse measuring devices in the related art that use a cuff are devices that examine a pulse by disposing a sensor inside the cuff, mounting the cuff on the wrist using a Velcro tape, and injecting air into the cuff using a pump so that the sensor comes into contact with a portion from which a pulse is intended to be examined.
In such a pulse measuring device, the cuff is wound around the wrist and air is injected. This consequently presses the wrist in 360° directions, thereby causing congestion. In addition, the position of a pulse sensor changes in response to the cuff expanding, thereby making it impossible to measure a pulse wave in the intended position. A deformed pulse wave and deformed Korotkoff sound are detected, thereby making it difficult to measure a reliable pulse wave in a correct position.
As shown in FIG. 1, a typical pulse sensor that is used in a pulse measuring device has a sensor chip 402 mounted on the upper end of a board 401. Here, the sensor chip 402 is fixedly mounted on the board 401 using a bonding material 403, and the sensor chip 402 and the board 401 are electrically connected to each other using bonding wires 404. Here, the bonding wires 404 are made of a material, such as Au or Al, and are mounted via wire bonding.
In addition, the sensor chip 402 and the bonding wires 404 are wrapped in a soft material 405 in order to protect the sensor chip 402 and the bonding wire 404.
However, this sensor chip 402 has problems, such as the bonding wires 404 being cut when the sensor chips 402 are frequently used, or a drawback of low durability, in which the bonding wires 404 are damaged by impact or vibrations. Since the entire module becomes defective if a defect occurs during processing, there is a problem of decreased productivity.
Furthermore, since the soft material is applied on the entire sensor chip, the area to which pressure is transferred is widely distributed, thereby causing a crosstalk phenomenon. Consequently, there are the constraints that it becomes impossible to correctly locate the pulse and difficult to produce correct data.